tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5424364424049242300.post8303270910392133470..comments2023-06-21T18:53:11.897+10:00Comments on Pykk: hidden, like the fragrance of the flowersUmbagollahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14556344092820711893noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5424364424049242300.post-89779171948580232392015-09-29T03:36:56.975+10:002015-09-29T03:36:56.975+10:00This is where I see the main stylistic link betwee...This is where I see the main stylistic link between Ullman and Walser, that idea of the story as a journey through lines, and "single lines will spur one or several minor explosions of thought." In Walser you see him giving in to that coaxing one moment and then suddenly deciding to resist it (the story is trying to make him talk about the hero but he refuses; he'll talk about the river instead). Umbagollahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14556344092820711893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5424364424049242300.post-48914078685208511692015-09-27T13:48:31.835+10:002015-09-27T13:48:31.835+10:00i almost said, "kaleidoscopic fireworks"...i almost said, "kaleidoscopic fireworks", but then felt it wasn't quite like that. but not ponderous either. she was quite religious, but saw religion in a somewhat naturalistic way; lending sort of a rural flavor to the lines.Mudpuddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17194891656971454279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5424364424049242300.post-80890915824408072452015-09-27T13:45:36.124+10:002015-09-27T13:45:36.124+10:00i'm well into "the country road" and...i'm well into "the country road" and am seeing, among a host of "ineffable" ideas, much the same kind of reference in r.u.'s work. she is really a poet, as single lines will spur one or several minor explosions of thought that illuminate her images in different ways. as you know it's a volume of short stories, with the first being by far the farthest out. great fun, thanks for pointing her out!Mudpuddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17194891656971454279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5424364424049242300.post-33332991107127135442015-09-27T01:01:45.269+10:002015-09-27T01:01:45.269+10:00That's a good point; those those Taoist poems ...That's a good point; those those Taoist poems pay such meticulous attention to the presences of human and non-human things. Are people here, are they not here; if they are not here then what is here? "Two or three pines." "Silence of water." "The last fragment of cloud."Umbagollahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14556344092820711893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5424364424049242300.post-38816976107392388352015-09-25T05:32:02.205+10:002015-09-25T05:32:02.205+10:00"an ineffable atmosphere of dread": gre..."an ineffable atmosphere of dread": great line!...Mudpuddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17194891656971454279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5424364424049242300.post-73166598827744989812015-09-25T05:30:07.168+10:002015-09-25T05:30:07.168+10:00individual awareness varies. some wouldn't ev...individual awareness varies. some wouldn't even notice; others can't stand to be around people at all! humans, to a sensitive personality, are barely tolerable at best. loneliness can range from unpleasant to crazy-making, so it's seems a continual struggle to find that balance. some of us like trees better than humanity, anyway... the poetry of chinese taoist hermits bears upon this subject quite well, i've found...Mudpuddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17194891656971454279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5424364424049242300.post-79821604238343497302015-09-25T00:50:25.202+10:002015-09-25T00:50:25.202+10:00The Zen idea is interesting. If I had to pin down ...The Zen idea is interesting. If I had to pin down the horror in this story then I'd say that it seems to come from the presence of the people, as it does in Kafka; there's the sense that the ordinary social arrangements of human beings are capable, in themselves, of generating an ineffable atmosphere of dread. Umbagollahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14556344092820711893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5424364424049242300.post-82167217563790769542015-09-22T06:42:46.627+10:002015-09-22T06:42:46.627+10:00"the horror" being, maybe, the pointles..."the horror" being, maybe, the pointlessness of life? a strong zen component here, it seems to me. a gentle whiff of Indra's net, wherein all things in the universe are spread evenly everywhere, like undifferentiated molecules without value attached. ultimate detachment, in fact. a non ego impression of all reality. i can't wait to get the book; the poetry must be quite haiku-like. thanks for the thoughts...Mudpuddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17194891656971454279noreply@blogger.com